VICENTE LÓPEZ PORTAÑA (Valencia, 1772 - Madrid, 1850). "The twelve apostles". Models for The Last Supper (Játiva), ca.1805. Pair of oil on canvas, reentelados. Without signature. Size: 56 x 80 cm. c.u. In these two canvases the authorship of Vicente López Portaña is evident in the way of resolving each one of the biblical characters that later he would transfer to the monumental painting of The Last Supper, destined to the refectory of the Royal Monastery of Santa Clara de Játiva (one of the outstanding works of the artist, dated in 1805). The six apostles represented on each side of the table, distancing themselves from the figure of Christ at the moment when he advances that one of them is going to betray him, appear here distributed in two paintings. The final painting will respect most of the expressions and gestures reproduced here, except for slight variations. In the museum of the castle of Peralada (Gerona) two heads of apostles are conserved that, like these groups, are also taken from life to transfer them to this same Last Supper, among them that of Judas Thaddeus. All of them are reviewed by José Luis Díez in the catalog raisonné on the artist (Fundacio?n de Apoyo a la Historia del Arte Hispa?nico, 1999, pp. 35, 552 and 553). In it, emphasis is placed on Vicente López's interest in individualizing each of the figures in the monumental painting, which led the painter to portray real models. They translate into a highly expressive naturalism. Vicente López began his training as a disciple of Antonio de Villanueva at the Academy of San Carlos in Valencia, where he obtained in 1786 and 1789 the first class prize, obtaining a pension to study in Madrid. Already in the court, the following year he reached the first place in the competition of the Academy of San Fernando. There he learned the baroque and colorful sense of compositions, and the taste for drawing, precise and analytical. The baroque lavishness of Luca Giordano's and Corrado Giaquinto's frescoes also had a decisive influence on his language. Already consecrated, he returned to his native city in 1792. There he received important public and private commissions, including portraits of Ferdinand VII and Marshal Soult. In his portraits López shows his Valencian heritage, the weight of Ribera and Ribalta's naturalism, as well as his mastery in the reproduction of details and qualities. His quality in the field of the portrait makes Fernando VII call him back to the court in 1814, naming him the following year first painter of the chamber. From then on he was the most sought-after painter by the Spanish high society, and he alternated his work at the court with teaching, official posts and private commissions. In 1823 he became the artistic director of the Royal Museum of Paintings, for which he painted a superb portrait of Francisco de Goya, now in the Prado. Works by Vicente López are kept in the Prado Museum, the Fine Arts Museum of Valencia San Pío V, the Academy of San Fernando, the Municipal Museum of Játiva, the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, the New York Historical Society, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome and the Lázaro Galdiano Foundation in Madrid.